FPC Romaniacs 2007
This page chronicles Week One of our journey. For the current week, please go here.
"See what Jesus saw. Do what Jesus did. Go where He sends you."
- Matthew 9:35-38
July 25, 2007
5:02pm
The Rest of the Story
As if we needed any reminders as to why we're here, please observe this picture:
When we returned from Petreasa this morning, Elliot and Whitney ran into Chris (20), John (22) and Florentina (or Ina, now 16) outside The Bridge. The three are siblings and were orphans at Casa Iosef. John and Chris were adopted by American families. Ina remained in Romania with an Aunt and Uncle and John and Chris visit her in Romania every year. John lives in New Hampshire and is working on his college degree. Chris is about to start a business in Texas.
The blessings of the Lord on this family, through the work of the Lucacius and so many others, may never be fully realized this side of eternity. But there is still much joy, even here below Heaven.
1:16pm
The Children of Petreasa
The Roma children have a way of looking right through you. It's an openness and a beseeching at the same time, as if they're waiting for you to tell them something they don't already know.
Today we visited the Roma village of Petreasa, on the outskirts of Beius. We have been here on both of our previous trips and it is always a tremendous blessing. It's funny: before going to Tinca, we all thought Petreasa was a poverty-stricken village. It is, to be sure, but by comparison, this is Boardwalk.
Our previous trips here have been ad hoc worship services and playing with the children. This year, we upped the ante by trying a VBS-style morning outside. It was a huge success.
Elliot told the story of the Foolish and Wise Builders (Matthew 7:24) while we acted it out. Stephanie, Michael and I played the part of both houses. We dutifully fell when Pamela and Whitney pummeled us as the house of the Foolish Builder. Thank the Lord that we stayed together as the Wise Builder's house: it could have impacted their spiritual understanding for years to come.
Michael told the story of God's salvation through six colored beads: blue for creation, black for sin, red for Jesus' blood, white for being made clean, green for growing in the faith, and yellow for the riches of eternity.
Stephanie acted out a person seeking fulfillment through music, wealth, sports, beauty,a nd knowledge, none of which was lasting. Elliot then offered her a personal relationship with Jesus, and all was well. The children were very perceptive as Peter asked them what each stage represented. After many songs (in both Romanian and English), we took Polaroid pictures of the children and helped them put the photos in a foam core frame and decorate them with some foam core stickers. It was a huge, if chaotic, hit.
The faith of the people of Petreasa is strong. Please pray for them and the severities of this life, both in the discrimination they face and the vagaries of weather they endure.
July 24, 2007
9:55pm
And Then, the Rains Came
I'm sure oil running down the beard (as in Psalm 133:2) is pleasant, but rain streaming down your face after days of record high temperatures is also a blessing. We leave you this evening with a picture of the pure joy of youth: Andrea, Stephanie and Pamela jumping on a trampouline in a pouring rainstorm. The Lord is good!
7:40pm
flashBANG: the Sequel
Mark Steele, one of Michael Homan' friends, has written a book, flashBANG. It chronicles his experience leading mission teams around the world. It is a hilarious book, and also quite moving. We can relate to his underlying theme: that while we are "trying to find out what is pleasing to the Lord" and serving Him, our prayer is that we don't leave things worse than they were.
One of the characters in
flashBANG is a German student named Klaus. He has the reverse Midas touch, as everything Klaus touches becomes a disaster. On trips to Romania since reading the book, one of our prayers is always, "Please, Lord, don't let me be Klaus!"
This afternoon, we skated dangerously close to a Klaus moment. Elliot, Michael and Doug went to Casa Iosef orphanage to set up a pool for the girls. It's the kind that has an inflatable ring on the top which holds the pool open. Then the water itself stabilizes the sides, which is shaped kind of like those nuclear reactor cooling towers. You know the kind. Anyway, Elliot had brought an electric pump from the States. Forsyth also had the foresight (I just kill myself sometimes!) to bring a power converter, but had forgotten the adapter which allows you to actually plug something into an outlet. If every outlet requires this adapter, one would think the plugs incorporate them. Must be a control thing.
With much searching by Anca, one of the loevely women at the orphanage, we found an adapter, but there do not appear to be any outdoor receptacles in the whole country of Romania. No worries: we ended up completely dismantling the orphanage's computer room to wrest an extension cord from under the rug (probably better that way - too dangerous as it was!). We found that if we plugged the cord into an outlet in the basement where the food freezer was, then made a small hole in the screen, and stretched the cord as far as we could, we could just reach outside for the pump.
A perfect plan had thus been executed. Until the pump blew the fuse. Did I mention that it was on the same circuit as the food freezer? And that they are setting heat records Romania? Visions of spoiled food and hungry orphan children flashed through our minds as the helpers tripped on the upended rug trying to reach an unplugged computer to request reinforcements against the "helpful" Americans.
Elliot and Anca began the quest for the fuse box while Michael and I headed off to a hardware store for duct tape (it's universal) and several permutations of hose connections. Oh yeah: it seems that MacGyver has nothing on the Romanians when it comes to repurposing articles. The only problem is that not a single hose at the orphange had any kind of end that would work with the pool and the "Hula Poola" devices we had brought.
Anyway, as Michael and I came up short at three stores, Elliot and Anca raced the clock against thawing chickens. True to form, the fuse box was sealed with what probably took an Act of the Romanian Senate to open, but they were able to replug the freezer.
We received a hand air pump and Michael set to work until it began to lose pressure. But by then, Whitney had arrived and saved the day. Did you know she used to play the French Horn? Parents, tell your children that you never know what training in your past is going to be of benefit. She took the pool and, with lungs made strong by years of playing Mozart and Sousa, filled the ring! It was an amazing sight.
Whitney was the hero, until we saw that the pool contained two large holes where the filter intake and discharge should be. Whitney had urged Elliot to leave the filter in Tulsa because of the weight and the fact that it would not run on Romanian current. But now there were two escape routes for the water. A little duct tape fixed the problem and Whitney began to fill the pool. As she stepped in with the hose, she smiled and said, "Aaahh." She persuaded us to take off your shoes and step in. As each of us did, we also smiled and let out an "Aaahh." The whole Middle Eastern/Biblical washing of the feet thing came into sharper focus as we five adults fellowshipped with our bare feet in cool water in the Romanian sunset.
2:45pm
A Bright and Glorious Day
The view from my room at the clinic. As our friend Jenette says, "And this is our fallen world. Can you imagine how great the new Heaven and earth will be?"
Today, we went on four "Agape Runs". Johnny, a pastor in Beius who works with the Lucacius (and is another saint) drove us, kept us entertained, and frankly darn near wrecked the van a couple of times. But we had a great morning.
All along the roads in Romania, storks (yes, real storks, Elliot) make their nests at the top of power poles.
Now we understand the number of orphans in Romania!
The Agape Runs take food and clothing to needy families in the outlying areas. Our first family was a husband, wife and six children, up in the mountains.
We began delivering food, clothes and the Beanie Babies that members of our congregation and friends have so generously supplied. The next stop was a widow whose son has now moved away. She lived in a two room house with a cat. Even though we couldn't understand her words, her story was evident as she told us with great emotion about a lovely black and white photograph - she and her husband on their wedding day.
I was reminded of REMM's guiding verse from Scripture, James 1:27: "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
Agape Run 3 was another large family. It was a pleasure to learn that Johnny's son is dating one of the girls. She is seen with her mother and her sister is in the picture at left.
Their dog was cute little fellow.
We had been to our fourth house before. Last year, the family was putting beautiful tile in the living area. This year, the mother and father were gone to Spain to work for a few months. The four children (three of whom are seen below) have been fending for themselves. And they seemed to be doing a good job of it.
While we were running around the beautiful (albeit hot) countryside, the other team was at the orphanage making beautiful butterfly pictures with the girls.
After lunch, some of us went over to the orphanage to set up a kiddy pool. A simple task, right? You should know us better than that by now!
July 23, 2007
5:18pm
A Clean, Well-Lit Room
You know the phrase, "Be careful what you wish for"? Well, today we learned its corollary, "Be careful what you pray for." All this trip, we have been praying (through song) "Open the Eyes of My Heart, Lord", and today the Lord answered that prayer, right in our faces and straight up our nostrils, in the Roma (gypsy) village of TInca.
Psychologists tell us that the sense of smell is the most evocative of the senses, able to recall precise moments even after years have past. I always doubted that - until today. Tinca is an assault on all the senses, but especially the sense of smell. Once it hits you, it weaves its sights, sounds, and smells and it never lets go.
Tinca is a village of 2,000 gypsies, or Roma. Think of the worst discrimination you know of. Start there and work down. The Roma are the outcasts of Europe and Romania is the epicenter. Tinca is the largest gypsy village in Romania. Seventy percent are children. Infant mortality is unbelievably high. The life expectancy is 52 years, a very sobering thought for those of us born in 1954.
But, there is Pastor George, "St. George" if you will. He is one of the very few Roma who are able to enter mainstream society. He went to seminary and now is back helping the helpless. He and his wife are building a church in Tinca. Every day, they have a morning VBS-style service for the children and are able to feed 30 of them. The bad news, if you were doing the math above, is that there are approximately 1,400 children in the village. But, as you can see below from the smile of one of the girls, what they are able to do is making a tremendous difference.
Pastor George took some of us on a tour of the village while others stayed at the Church and worked, played, sang, and prayed with the children. Even within Tinca, there is a hierarchy. we moved from areas of relative order to pockets of absolute squallor.
This woman, her husband, and four children live in this house made of sticks. Another family was sleeping outside on what used to be a mattress, racing the clock to build a mud house before winter. As Pastor George took us deeper into the village, families would ask us to pray for them: a paralyzed boy here, a woman with an enlarged liver there, a man missing an arm here. Fervent prayers went up, and every petition was punctuated with a bold "Ameen!"
As we navigated the village, Pastor George would invite children to the Church. We came to one enclave - a group of five small houses where 30 people lived. The women (seen below) were so gentle with their children. They found a pair of shorts for one of the boys, then one of the fathers loaded some up in the horse cart and they were off for the Church - and maybe the only meal the children would have that day.
The most pressing physical need is for clean drinking water. There was a hepatits outbreak last year and over 70% of the village was affected. There is no clean, running water in the village. Besides feeding the village's souls and the children's bodies, Pastor George also brings a message of hygiene, exhorting his flock to pick up trash and wash their hands. Together with the Gospel of our Lord, this adjunct message is beginning to make a difference.
July 22, 2007
9:57pm
A New Leaf
Our first day in Romania! Peter Lucaciu has arranged for us to attend two different churches today. The girls from the orphanage joined us at breakfast. What a joy! They were dressed in their Sunday best and they rode with us to the small village of Beiusele. The church was very small, and the people were dear followers of the Lord. The girls from Casa Iosef sang a few songs and many of the people wiped tears from their eyes as they sang.
Our group sang a few songs, then Carol gave a moving testimony about God’s healing power of her baby girl while Carol was pregnant. And then, the punchline: Stephanie was that baby girl! More tears and more acclamations of “Ameen!”
Michael gave a wonderful testimony about what he has learned from both his mother and father and how God has led Michael into his college education studying meteorology. Doug preached on John 21:15-17, how Jesus comes to us where we are, meets us there, and calls us to new heights in Him.
It was a lovely morning and the Spirit was at work.
After lunch and a nap, we met for devotion time. We then hopped on the van for the village of Stei. We had been to this Church two years ago and had a wonderful time singing the hymns together in our own languages. Again, their musician made the old electric organ sing for the Lord and the Pastor led them in song. Elliot again led us in some songs and the congregation joined in. Whitney shared her testimony of a steady, growing faith in Jesus Christ. Michael again witnessed and Doug again preached.
After the service, Elliot and the organist had an impromptu jam session, and the Pastor joined in on a leaf. It’s just a leaf he got from a tree in the churchyard. The sounds he could make on it! They went through “Amazing Grace” and then really let loose on “Blessed Assurance”. A man playing “Blessed Assurance” on a leaf. Now that’s something you don’t hear every day.
The quote of the day: when Elliot asked the organist if they could play a certain hymn, the organist said no because it had a certain high note. He said, “He doesn’t have that note on his leaf.” Next year, we are going to bring him a soprano leaf. Maybe in B-flat.
After supper, we walked over to the orphanage. The girls were revved-up and ready to go. We played with them for a while, then walked over to The Bridge – the coffee house run by the Lucaciu’s which helps to fund their ministries. The place was hopping! There is air conditioning and wireless internet, plus delicious pastries and the best coffee this side of Tulsa. It was wonderful to see Katrina again. Katrina teaches and works with the orphans. She has an amazing testimony and she will help the ladies of the team this year with Faithbooking and the Mexican Fiesta Night.
Tomorrow: the gypsy village of Tinca.
July 21, 2007
11:57pm
Twenty-Four Hours from Tulsa
We landed in Frankfurt and sprinted to our gate for Budapest. Here is the team, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed on the bus on the tarmac:
For all of our Tulsa friends, wondering where our summer heat went, we found it! It’s in Eastern Europe. They set records the day we landed in Budapest. It sounds better in Celsius: 40. Air conditioning is not common here. But the van from Budapest to Beius was cool. Our three “youngsters” on the trip (all of whom will give you hope for the future) rested and talked on the ride:
Then, we came to the border. A large, very official border agent came on board. The van fell silent as he came down the aisle and collected our passports. He got to the back row, where Carol and Elaine were. Elaine looked down into her backpack and could not find her passport. She was very calm as she deliberately searched through her belongings. At one point, Carol coughed and Elaine patted her on the arm. Time stretched into an eternity. The tension was palpable as the Romanian border agent glowered over Elaine. Finally, she found her passport - and placed it on the seat. Then, she straightened her belongings, wrapped up her camera cable, and looked for a snack, all while the man stood centimeters away. Finally, after another eternity, I mentioned, “Why don’t you give him the passport so he can get started.” At that point, Elaine looked up and was startled that the man was there! She had been completely unaware of his arrival. Meanwhile, the rest of us had aged about five years.
We arrived in Beius and were greeted by the Lucacius. Soup was on the table. We ate, laughed, and prepared for tomorrow.
July 20, 2007
1:57pm
We checked our bags last night - preflight. Sorry: wrong decade. We met at the Church to load the van, be prayed over by loved ones, and head to the airport.
The Forsyths' dear friend, Don McDonald, sent us off with a beautiful prayer - actually 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12: "With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."
After checking 14 tubs of supplies (the "El Shaddai Mind Trick" worked) we made it through Security and settled down to lunch at TGI Friday's. Our flight out was delayed two hours, so Elliot kept us entertained with stories of his work . . . and we already have our first "In" phrase of the trip! Elliot was talking about "rocket launchers" and Elaine mistakenly thought he was saying "Rock 'n Roll Jesus". We'll see how many applications we use that phrase in!
Here we are at Denver International, ready to board. And Whitney shows us the proper application of sleeping apparati (fuzzy pink style required):
So, here we are, the gang of nine, on the threshold of a great adventure.
July 19, 2007
10:39am
Good morning!
We're now less than 24 hours before gathering at the Church for our sendoff. In the interm, have you ever wondered what A World Without Romania would be like? Watch this YouTube video to be amazed and entertained. For example: Baseball. Who knew? Thanks for the reference, Whitney!
12:02am
Dear Friends,
After 14 Rubbermaid tubs, two orders of pizza, over 1,000(!) Beanie Babies, an equal number of coffee cups and lids, many, many fans and two Sam's-size cans of corn (I'll explain in a minute), we finished our packing!
Whitney surveyed the scene, keeping in mind that each piece of luggage can weigh no more than 50 pounds. (I know it looks like she's in the opening scene of Lost - that's actually the Children's Library at Church, our staging area.) Elliot, Michael and Doug developed a system to wrap the tubs in miles of cling film. Cherrie's daughter, Chloe, helped us tape down the loose ends.
This mover's film is easier than fighting bungee cords, it seems more secure than tape, and we learned last year that if Security needs to look inside, they'll wrap it back up with the same material. A win, win!
Next came the realization that, although there are only nine of us traveling, we have 14 tubs. A quick bit of ciphering told us that five of us would not be able to check any more luggage. This led to some creative thinking regarding our bags. Those of us veterans of past trips remember two years ago when we inadvertently took the bag of a one Mr. Kevin Franke at the Budapest airport (we have no idea who he was - his luggage somehow ended up with ours) and carried it all the way across the border into Romania (don't ask me how we made it through two Customs checkpoints with it - it just happened). We felt so sorry for Mr. Franke, who must have let out a little cheer upon making it all the way to Hungary from wherever and securing his luggage onto a cart, only to have it disappear before his very eyes. We hope man and bag were reunited quickly after our driver made the six-hour trip back to Budapest the next day.
Anyway, the secret is to travel lightly, and we did the best we could in consolidating luggage. The rest we leave up to what we call the "El Shaddai Mind Trick". Do you remember the "Jedi Mind Trick" in Star Wars where Obi Wan Kenobi waves his hand and tells the Imperial Storm Troopers, "these aren't the droids you're looking for"? Well, after some prayer, we rely on the Lord to soften the hearts of ticket agents, baggage handlers, and security personnel to overlook a couple of pounds here, an extra bag there.
We worked up an appetite securing tubs, counting Beanie Babies and weighing contents. Carol and Elaine picked up pizza for the group.
Oh yeah, about that corn. The ladies of our group are going to invite the women from the village of Beius to a Fiesta and share recipes for Mexican food. If it's only one-tenth the success of the Faithbooking meetings last year (which Cherrie is holding again this year with the Beius ladies), the Mexican dinner will be a huge hit.
We seem to have a Cinco de Mayo vibe going this year: we're also taking two piñatas with us for the carnival at the orphanage. ¡Ole!
July 18, 2007
Dear Friends,
Join us on First Church's third mission journey to the beautiful country of Romania! We depart Tulsa on Friday, July 20, and will return on Tuesday, July 31. Meet our team:
Carol Elrod
Stephanie Elrod
Elliot Forsyth (our fearless leader)
Whitney Forsyth
Michael Grogan
Pamela Marquez
Doug Smith
Elaine Stook-Mansur
Cherrie Turner
Each one has been gifted with special talents and chosen by God to be a part of His work in Romania this summer. Please keep them in your prayers, especially for the following:
Carol
-
Please pray for God to direct each of us to the specific opportunities He has prepared for us, in order that we might be used to His service and glory.
-
Please pray for God to keep my son, Griffin, and my parents, Jack and Lena Nafe, healthy, safe, and at peace in my absence.
-
Please pray for the health and safety of our team as we travel and serve.
-
A prayer of gratitude for His presence in my life, my relationship with Jesus Christ, and the humbling honor to accept the call to serve Him in Romania.
Stephanie
-
Please pray for the safety of my friends and family in my absence.
-
Please pray for safe travels for our team.
-
Please pray that our team is open-minded and remains mindful that God is in control.
-
Please pray for all of the children of Romania.
Elliot and Whitney
- For God’s glory to shine in us and through us to the Romanian people.
- For Jesus to be glorified through our serving Him and for our team to make a lasting impact of love.
- For team unity, protection and safety.
- For God to teach us, change us and mold us through this experience.
- For protection and safety for Simona and grandparents while we’re gone.
- For God to impact lives and kindle a fire for missions within our church.
- Pray for adoption to reopen in RO, so that many children will have the chance for a permanent loving family.
- Pray for the REMM ministry, for new ministry directions and opportunities to share the gospel.
Michael
-
That I can trust that God will work through me whether or not I witness great fruitfulness of our efforts in Romania.
-
That I will develop lasting friendships with those on my team and others that I meet in Romania.
-
That God will empty me of selfish motives.
-
That God will provide me with patience in difficult moments and enthusiasm to serve always as Jesus did.
-
That my faith might be strengthened and renewed.
-
That God will affirm my trip to Romania. The reasons for going are not all crystal clear, but I believe that God has a purpose for me on this journey.
And pray for all of us tonight, that our packing party goes smoothly! We'll be loading nine Rubbermaid tubs with everything from VBS materials to peanut butter to computer supplies to the countless Beanie Babies that members of our First Church family so lovingly and selflessly gave to light up the eyes and hearts of the Romanian children. All this and pizza, too!
- Doug
Please click here to go to the current week's web log.
REMM is involved in medical work, evangelism and helping those in need, including orphans, widows and poor families. It organizes work teams from around the world to assist in these ministry outreaches. Teams help plant new churches, support missionaries both in and around Romania, assist physicians, as well as equip medical clinics and nursing homes. They also purchase land for Christian farmers, supply agricultural equipment, support evangelists and pastors, adopt churches in Romania and distribute biblical literature in hospitals, orphanages, villages, market places, prisons, schools and universities. Learn more at REMM's website.
Copyright 2007 First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa